A SOLDIER's Promise
by LastOrder1
Summary: Just a quick oneshot about Zack and Cloud being in Nibelheim before Sephiroth went crazy. Pairings: Zack/Aerith and Cloud/Tifa. I hope you all enjoy it. Please read and review.


**Disclaimer-I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or any of the Final Fantasy 7 characters. Final Fantasy 7 and all of the Final Fantasy 7 characters rightfully belongs to Square-Enix. I own nothing.**

**Hello everyone. This is a oneshot about Zack and Cloud being in Nibelheim not long before Sephiroth went crazy. There are some familiar scenes here for those of you who have played Final Fantasy 7:Crisis Core. Pairings are Cloud/Tifa and Zack/Aerith. Well, I really hope that you all enjoy it and please feel free to review if you want to.**

**A SOLDIER's Promise**

Deep in the vast mountains of Mount Nibel which towers over the small village of Nibelheim, a young woman and a young Shin-Ra infantryman wait outside a mako reactor. "I don't get why I'm not allowed inside. I mean, I've lived here my whole life," the young woman protests. She doesn't mean to complain, but she's just really curious of what it's like inside of the reactor. The Shin-Ra infantryman remains completely silent in response. The young woman, Tifa looks at the infantryman and asks him, "Have you ever been in there?"

Cloud can feel his face redden from under his helmet as he finds himself in a tight situation. He can't talk to her because she'll easily discover who he is then. He lowers his head to stare at the ground and nervously shakes his head in response.

Tifa casually crosses her arms and asks him, "Are you allowed to go in?"

Cloud absolutely refuses to use his voice as he nods his head to answer her question. When she takes a few steps towards him, Cloud can feel his face redden even more. He continues to stare at the ground to try to evade her big beautiful brown eyes in a hopeful attempt to not give himself away.

"You really don't talk that much, do you?" she asks him in a kind tone.

Cloud shakes his head in response. He's really hoping that she won't catch on to who he is.

The young woman softly giggles at the mysterious infantryman's actions. There's something about his quiet ways that's familiar to her. Despite the fact that she hasn't seen his face or heard his voice for that matter, she's completely oblivious of his identity...and yet there's something about his presence that feels familiar and comforting.

Cloud's eyes widen when he sees bullets suddenly fly past them. He quickly dives onto Tifa, knocking her to the ground to get her out of the line of fire. He looks up to see four Genesis copies growling at them, showing their teeth in a monster-like snarl. He quickly grabs her by the arm and pulls her on the other side of the steps for cover. Cloud doesn't waste any time and clicks the safety on his assault rifle off before he peeks his head out some from behind the stairs and returns fire. He ceases fire and ducks for cover when one of the Genesis copies shoots a blast of fire materia at them, making the metal stairs tremble after being hit by the scorching flames of the attack.

Since Tifa hasn't seen these creatures around here before, she feels confused if they're monsters or some sort of enemy troops because they do look human-like but not entirely. "Why are they attacking us?" she asks her companion.

Of course, Cloud doesn't answer her. Instead, he peeks his head out to see the copies advancing towards them. He refuses to let them hurt Tifa. For him, that's not an option. When he makes an attempt to try and climb to his feet, Tifa quickly grabs him and pulls him back down.

She looks at him with a look of concern in her eyes as she asks him, "Hey, shouldn't we wait for Zack and Sephiroth?"

Cloud knows that's a very good idea. However, he has no idea how much longer Zack and Sephiroth will be inside the mako reactor and the Genesis copies are advancing towards them right now. He looks at her as he rests a gentle hand on her shoulder and lightly squeezes it reassuringly. Afterwards, he quickly climbs to his feet and runs out from behind the stairs.

"Wait! I can fight too!" Tifa loudly shouts in an attempt for the infantryman to hear her over the sounds of gunfire as she comes out from behind the steps.

Cloud sprints away from the stairs in an attempt to lure them away from Tifa as he shoots at them. He gives himself a proud smile when he succeeds at taking one of them down. However, when he notices that Tifa is no longer taking cover behind the stairs and the three remaining Genesis copies are advancing towards her now. Cloud doesn't waste any time at all and races towards her as he continues shooting at them. He immediately stands between Tifa and the copies, ready to protect her at all costs. Time seems to slow down as he aims his assault rifle at the copies and lightly squeezes the trigger. The next thing that he knows, one of the copies growls at him and shoots materia at him that has a strange dark purple glow to it.

Cloud feels like he's seeing stars as the air gets knocked out of him from the materia blast. He drops his assault rifle just before he crumples to the ground, falling hard on his knees before landing on his back. He struggles to keep his eyes opened and words can't describe how relieved that he feels when he sees Zack race down the steps of the mako reactor with the Buster Sword drawn. While Zack quickly works on dispatching the Genesis copies with ease, he suddenly sees Tifa's face hovering over his. He keeps his eyes locked on her beautiful face until his eyes slowly closes.

When Zack's finished taking down the rest of the Genesis copies, he quickly runs over to Cloud and Tifa. His heart sinks when he sees that his younger best friend is injured.

Tifa looks up at him with eyes full of concern as she tells him, "He was protecting me."

Zack looks at her and replies, "I know. We need to get back to town. Tifa can you carry him?"

"Yes."

Cloud silently grunts when he feels someone grab him and stand him up. He slightly opens his eyes to see the ground slowly moving and it doesn't take him long to realize that Tifa's half-carrying him while Zack scouts ahead to take down any monsters on the path. The infantryman struggles to walk because his chest is burning and it feels a little hard to breathe. He clenches his teeth some, doing his best to not allow for his voice to escape him. He still doesn't want for Tifa to know who he is and he knows that she'll recognize his voice.

Thankfully, it only takes about ten minutes for them to get back to Nibelheim. Tifa gently leans Cloud up against a nearby house. When he realizes how shaky his legs are, the infantryman presses his back against the outside wall of the house and rests his hands on his knees to try and support himself.

Zack quickly scans the village and he feels surprised that Sephiroth isn't here. "Where's Sephiroth?"

"Is something wrong?"

Zack looks at Tifa and replies, "I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

Tifa lets out a soft sigh. "I'm not surprised." She begins to walk away before she suddenly stops and tells Zack, "I'll ask around town about Sephiroth."

"Thanks Tifa," Zack tells her as she leaves. Zack turns to look at Cloud, who's still leaning up against the house. "We need to get you fixed up, buddy." Zack walks up to him and grabs him before he begins half-carrying him towards the inn.

Once they make it inside the inn, Cloud sighs when they're greeted by a flight of stairs. He's been injured on the battlefield once before and he knows that stairs are always one of the worst obstacles. He clenches his teeth and tightens his grip on Zack's shoulder when the pain intensifies.

"Come on, buddy. We don't need to rush, okay? Just one step at a time," Zack encourages in a soft comforting tone as he helps haul his friend up the stairs.

Deep heavy breaths leaves Cloud as Zack half-carries him up the stairs of the inn. He has no idea what kind of materia that Genesis copy shot him with, but it feels like his chest is burning. "Ungh," he softly moans in pain as he hangs his head low and everything goes dark.

When Zack realizes that Cloud has passed out, he gently scoops him up in his arms and carries him towards the bed that's closest to the window. He lays him down on the bed and gently unbuttons the shirt of Cloud's infantryman uniform to examine the damage. His eyes widen in concern when he sees a large round bruise on Cloud's chest from where he was hit with the materia. Although his wound isn't too serious, Zack doesn't waste any time and pulls out his handy regen materia from his pocket. After using it on Cloud, Zack watches as the large bruise on his chest disappears as it heals him. A deep breath of relief escapes from him as he smiles down at his sleeping friend and buttons his shirt back up.

The infantryman's breathing slows down as he begins to breathe normally. Zack reaches up and gently removes his friend's helmet to help make him feel a little more comfortable. He walks over to the table that's in the center of the room and places Cloud's helmet on it before he hastily makes his way back to his friend's side. He sits down on the edge of Cloud's bed, taking great care to not wake him up in the process as he keeps his worried gaze locked on his younger best friend. He watches the constant rise and fall of Cloud's chest as he takes deep steady breaths. "You'll be alright, kid." Zack smiles down at his little brother-in-arms as he gently pushes a few bangs away from his friend's closed eyes. He wishes that he would've gotten outside the mako reactor even sooner so that Cloud wouldn't have gotten hurt by those Genesis copies when he tried to protect Tifa. He gently runs a gloved hand through Cloud's blonde spiky hair as he apologizes in a soft caring tone, "I'm sorry that I didn't get there sooner, Cloud."

Zack soon decides to get up and sits on the bed that's across from Cloud's to give him some space. He remains sitting there for a few hours, never leaving Cloud's side because he needs to know if he's okay or not. So, he patiently waits for him to wake up.

A few hours later, Zack immediately feels relieved when Cloud opens his eyes. The infantryman softly grunts as he sits up. He immediately notices that his chest doesn't hurt anymore. Now that his younger best friend is awake, Zack informs him in a comforting tone, "Tifa's safe, don't worry."

Cloud pulls his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around them before he says in a disappointed voice, "If only I were SOLDIER.." The young infantryman looks over at his older best friend and that's when he notices the worried look on Zack's face. "Zack?"

Zack looks at him and replies, "SOLDIER is like a den of monsters. Don't go inside."

Now Cloud feels quite concerned because it's rare for him to hear Zack speak like that. He leans foreword on the bed and props himself up with his arm before asking, "What happened?"

Zack leans back on his bed before he takes a deep breath and answers, "I don't know, man. I thought I knew but..." He suddenly collapses onto the bed and lets out a loud sigh, "Ahhh." It doesn't take him long to ask Cloud out of curiosity, "By the way, do you know Tifa?"

Cloud can feel his face slightly redden some as soon as he hears Zack's question. In an attempt to hide it, he quickly turns around and pulls his knees close to his chest and wraps his arms around them. "Sort of," he answers, doing his best not to sound nervous.

"Talked to her?"

Cloud shakes his head and answers, "No."

Zack assumes that there may be some complications here. 'It's been a long time since he's been here. Doesn't he want to see her and his mom?' he thinks to himself. He sits up some, using his elbow to support himself before he tells him, "I'm sensing some issues here..shouldn't you do something?"

Cloud remains completely silent in response as he holds his knees a little tighter to his chest. He knows that he probably should talk to Tifa and visit his mother. He feels very uncomfortable about talking to Tifa though. He promised her before he left a couple of years ago that he'd be SOLDIER 1st Class the next time that he'd come back. Instead however, he's a mere Shin-Ra grunt. He feels like he failed her all because he isn't strong enough. He does want to talk to Tifa, but not as an infantryman. So he decides that he probably won't show his face to her. He probably will visit his mother though. He's been thinking about it for a while and he knows that his mother is worried about him. He'd feel terrible if he didn't at least see her.

The SOLDIER knows that Cloud's never been much of a talker. He looks down some and says, "I'm one to talk." He finds himself thinking about what happened in the mako reactor just a few hours ago. He feels worried about General Sephiroth because of what Genesis told him. Genesis told Sephiroth that he's a monster. 'What the hell was he thinking?' Zack thinks to himself. He's known Sephiroth for a while and there's no way that's true. What happened to his mentor and friend, Angeal, also enters his mind as he remembers various statements that Angeal told him in past conversations that they had; _"__Zack? Embrace your dreams. If you want to be a hero, you need to have dreams and honor." __"Zack, join my battle. Our enemy is all that creates suffering." "I've become a monster." "Zack, you have my thanks. Protect your honor..Always." _Zack looks down at the floor as he remembers Angeal. The man discovered his origins and believed that he was a monster. In the end, he transformed and attacked Zack. He actually wanted for Zack to end his life because he wanted to die as an honorable SOLDIER and not as a mindless monster. Zack carried out his wish and felt terrible for it because he wished that things could've been different. Angeal taught him everything that he needed to know about what it really means to have dreams and honor.

Zack suddenly feels frustrated at the whole thing because it seems like the situation with Sephiroth is mirroring what happened to Angeal. He slowly rises to his feet and walks towards the Buster Sword as he says, "I'm with SOLDIER so fighting's all I do." He can feel his hands tightening into fists as he adds, "Sorting things out is someone else's job." His voice escalates to an angry tone as he continues, "What's going on? Who's the enemy?" He grabs the Buster Sword and holds it over his head with a tight grip as he shouts, "It makes no difference to me!" He manages to force himself to calm down a bit as he takes deep breaths and holds the sword up to him and rests his forehead against it. The simple gesture always helps remind him of his SOLDIER honor as well as Angeal. Zack adopted the gesture out of respect in honor of Angeal.

Cloud's lips part and his eyes become wide with disbelief because him and Zack has been best friends for a couple of years now and he's never seen Zack get angry before. Zack's always been a very friendly and cheerful guy, so Cloud wasn't so sure if Zack ever expresses anger..until now. In an attempt to lighten the atmosphere and to help calm his friend down, Cloud hesitates for a few seconds before he tells him, "Hey, Zack? You know, I've never seen you use that."

Immediately after he hears Cloud's words, Zack's bright blue mako eyes widen in surprise and his expression looks much more calm as the anger flees from him. He recognizes those words as the same ones that he told Angeal a couple of years ago when he was SOLDIER 2nd Class. He remembers various things that Angeal told him again as memories flood into his mind; _"Use brings about wear, tear, and rust and that's a real waste." "You're a little more important than my sword, but just a little." _He also remembers after he inherited the Buster Sword from Angeal and he took up the responsibility of carrying on his legacy as he told several SOLDIER 3rd Class members and infantrymen, including Cloud; _"Embrace your dreams and whatever happens, protect your SOLDIER honor."_

Since Zack remains quiet in response, Cloud can't help but wonder if maybe he said the wrong thing or not. Perhaps he shouldn't have said anything? He feels relieved when Zack speaks to him in a calm tone as he holds the Buster Sword towards the window of the inn, "This is a symbol of my dreams and honor." Cloud leans back on the bed some and uses his hands to support himself. A small smile appears on his face as he looks over at his mentor. He's happy to know that it seems like Zack has calmed down a great deal. Listening to Zack talk about dreams and honor always comforts him. He's always enjoyed listening to those kinds of lectures that Zack gives. Cloud keeps his eyes intently locked on Zack, eagerly absorbing every word that he says. "No, it's more. That's right. I had almost forgotten." A big smile appears on Zack's face as he tells his younger best friend, "Thank you, Cloud."

Cloud slightly narrows his eyes in confusion. "Huh?" He isn't sure why Zack is thanking him.

Zack gently leans his sword up against the table as he continues smiling. "Right!"

Cloud sits up when Zack marches towards his bed which is beside Cloud's. The SOLDIER 1st Class quickly does a couple of squats before he stands up straight and informs him, "I'm gonna crash." After he hears Zack say that, Cloud raises a hand in an attempt to ask Zack a question. He wants to ask him what he thanked him for. Zack doesn't seem to notice as he adds, "Night!" He plops down on the bed and stretches his arms out before closing his eyes.

Cloud decides to hold off on his question since Zack's sleeping now. He really doesn't want to wake him up. The infantryman's eyes wander over to the Buster Sword. He looks back over at Zack to find that he's still asleep. He hesitates for a moment before he slowly climbs off of his bed and quietly tiptoes towards the Buster Sword, almost as if he's being drawn to it. Once he's standing inches away from the sword, he looks over his shoulder to see that Zack's still sleeping. Cloud turns to gaze at the Buster Sword again and lightly trails his fingers over the blade just below the handle as if it's one of the most beautiful pieces of art that he's ever seen.

While resting on the bed, Zack's eyes slowly opens to see Cloud standing in front of the Buster Sword, gently trailing his gloved fingers over the blade. The SOLDIER can't help but smile at how Cloud's admiring the Buster Sword. He remains completely silent as he continues watching him.

Cloud doesn't notice that Zack's watching him at all as he keeps his eyes locked on the sword, doing his best to memorize its details. He can tell just by looking at it that whoever forged it did an incredible job because it's definitely a very high quality blade. He wishes that he could wield a magnificent sword like this one. However, he's heard how Zack inherited this sword. So, he'd much rather have his best friend over a sword any day.

Zack quickly closes his eyes and pretends to be asleep when Cloud turns around and makes his way towards his bed. Cloud lays down on the bed before he looks at Zack and tells him in a soft tone, "Good night, Zack." He rolls over on his side to where he's facing his best friend and falls asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Zack wakes up and stretches his arms as he lets out a loud yawn. He turns his head and looks out the window to see the rays of sunlight shining into the room, indicating that it's morning. He looks at his sleeping friend and says, "Hey, Cloud? It's time to get up." When Cloud doesn't even stir, he speaks to him a little louder, "Cloud?" Zack smiles at his friend because the boy looks so peaceful in his sleep. It's a shame that he has to wake him up, but they have to get up to look for Sephiroth. They haven't seen the general since yesterday when they were at the mako reactor. In an attempt to keep trying to wake Cloud up, Zack says, "Cloud?" Since he still doesn't wake up, Zack assumes that Cloud's in a deep sleep. The SOLDIER decides to try a different tactic since the infantryman doesn't even stir when he calls out his name. "Kid? Kiddo? Spike? Spiky?" Zack sighs in amusement because Cloud still doesn't wake up. He smiles as he calls out in a playful tone, "Chocobo head?"

A small frown appears on Cloud's face as he unconsciously lets out a soft groggy groan, "Ungh."

Zack laughs as he thinks, 'Okay. Now we're getting somewhere.' Despite Cloud's response, the infantryman still continues sleeping. 'Sheesh, I bet that this place could be attacked by a bahamut and he'd still be sound asleep,' the SOLDIER thinks in amusement. What does he have to do to wake him up? Literally drag him out of bed? He looks beside him to see a notebook on the nightstand beside his bed. He grabs it and tears a blank piece of paper out of it and wads it up into a ball. "Hey, Cloud?" he says as he playfully tosses it at him, lightly hitting him right in the forehead.

When he feels something hit him in the forehead, Cloud's eyes quickly shoot open as he sits up in alarm. "What?!" Cloud shouts in surprise as he looks around to search the room, not sure of what's going on.

Zack softly chuckles as he sits up. "Calm down, kid."

Cloud looks at Zack after he hears his voice. For a moment, he thought that they were being attacked by monsters or something. He's relieved to discover that it was only Zack's wake up call.

When Cloud relaxes, Zack tells him, "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare ya." He smiles and jokes, "Did you have fun getting your beauty sleep?"

The blonde is thankful that Zack woke him up. He isn't so sure if it was necessary for him to throw a paper wad at him to wake him up though. After rubbing his eyes, the infantryman grins at him and jokes back, "You didn't get enough."

Zack laughs at Cloud's joke before he continues the harmless jest in a sarcastic tone, "Aww, gee..that really hurts my feelings."

A small smile appears on the infantryman's face in response. His feet meets the floor as he sits on the edge of his bed. When he remembers the events that had happened yesterday, Cloud gets serious as he tells him while looking at him with eyes full of gratitude, "Zack? Thank you for the help yesterday."

His older best friend smiles at him. "Yeah, no problem Cloud." Zack gets up and sits down next to him and asks him, "So, how come you want to be in SOLDIER?"

Cloud's eyes widen in response after he hears his friend's question. His desire to join SOLDIER is driven by the fact that he wants to become stronger so that he can protect Tifa. He's always had feelings for her ever since they were little kids and he just wants for her to notice him. Of course, he doesn't feel comfortable telling Zack that because he isn't sure what he'll think about it. So, he decides to reply, "I just want to."

Zack raises an eyebrow and urges with a small smile, "Aw, come on. You gotta have a reason." Since Cloud remains completely silent in response, Zack can't help but think that there's still some things that he doesn't know about his friend. The SOLDIER can read people quite well, so he can tell by the sound of Cloud's voice and his facial expression that he does have a reason why he wants to be a member of SOLDIER. However, the infantryman is protective over that information and keeps it heavily guarded. As if he wants for no one to know. A big smile appears on Zack's face when he decides to make a game out of it. He decides to try and guess what Cloud's reason is. "Hmm, let's see.." He places a hand on his chin to think before he guesses, "You want to try to become a hero like me?" When Zack sees Cloud shake his head in response, he asks, "No?" He begins to think again for a few seconds before he continues guessing, "You want to see the world?"

"No, that's not it," the infantryman informs him. He doesn't really care that Zack's trying to figure out his reason because he doesn't think that he'll guess the right answer anyways.

"You want to help people?"

Cloud does like to help people, but that's not his reason so he shakes his head in response.

"That's not it either?" The SOLDIER softly chuckles and adds, "Sheesh, I'm running out of ideas here Cloud." Zack suddenly remembers how eager Cloud's always acted when he would teach him different sword techniques in the training room at headquarters. He looks at him and randomly guesses, "You want to be stronger? You want to impress a girl?"

A quiet gasp of surprise escapes from Cloud's lips when he hears Zack get it right. He actually feels quite nervous now, so he tells him, "It's not a big deal Zack. Just forget it."

Zack thinks for a moment about how protective Cloud was over Tifa when they were at the mako reactor. He remembers Cloud telling him that he's from Nibelheim and Tifa is the only girl that he knows of who lives here that's around Cloud's age. He also can't help but notice how nervous and shy that his younger best friend acts around Tifa..or when he mentions her name. Now he understands. Cloud wants to join SOLDIER because he wants to become stronger to impress Tifa. Of course, Zack realizes that Cloud has low self-esteem. So even though he feels certain that he knows Cloud's secret, he decides to pretend like he doesn't know. "Okay. I'm all out of guesses." He playfully nudges his friend in the side with his elbow as he laughs and jokes, "My next guess would've been that you want to be a superhero." He turns to look at his friend and keeps his bright blue mako eyes locked on him.

Due to Zack staring at him with unblinking eyes, Cloud sighs to show that he's a little annoyed at his friend's actions. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Zack continues staring at him as he answers, "I'm just trying to imagine what you would look like with a cape." A big smile slowly appears on his face as he adds, "Oh, and with your underwear on over your pants." He suddenly bursts out laughing when he imagines what Cloud would look like in an outfit like that. "You would look really funny."

Cloud shakes his head and rolls his eyes in response. Sometimes it's hard to believe that Zack's SOLDIER 1st Class because he can be so silly. For some reason however, a brief image of himself wearing a long flowing cape and his underwear on over his pants suddenly enters his mind. He smiles before he softly laughs at the mental image.

The SOLDIER gives himself a proud smile when he succeeds at making the infantryman laugh and smile. A soft gasp escapes from Zack before he teases his friend with a big cheerful smile on his face, "Oh, you're laughing? And is that a smile I see?" Cloud manages to stop laughing as he forces himself to stop thinking about it. He keeps smiling though which causes for Zack to softly chuckle and pats him on the back. Zack gets serious as he asks him, "So, your dream is to become SOLDIER 1st Class?"

The smile on Cloud's face fades away some as he looks down and nods his head in response.

"Ya know, there's more to life than being in SOLDIER, buddy. It's important to have dreams though. So, if that's what you want, than go for it."

The infantryman continues staring down at the floor. He's tried so many times to make it into SOLDIER, but they always tell him that he's not strong enough to handle the mako treatments. He finds himself thinking that perhaps that's an unattainable dream. Cloud shakes his head and says with a voice that's tinged with uncertainty, "I don't know..."

"Cloud?"

The blonde looks up at him with his natural blue eyes. "Huh?"

A deep breath leaves Zack before he finds himself repeating Angeal's words from the past, "Embrace your dreams. If you want to be a hero, you need to have dreams."

Cloud furrows his eyebrows in concentration as he continues looking at Zack. His eyes soon wander towards the wooden floor as he reflects on Zack's words, focusing on his older best friend's statement. Cloud's thoughts suddenly gets interrupted when he hears Zack softly chuckle. He looks back up at him with wide eyes and is immediately greeted by a gloved hand playfully ruffling his blonde spiky hair.

When Zack remembers Cloud admiring the Buster Sword last night, he promises with a big and bright smile, "When we get back to Midgar, we're going to continue your training." After hearing Zack's words, Cloud's eyes meets his before he continues, "If you want to, I'll even teach you some moves with the Buster Sword."

Cloud's jaw drops as his eyes widen in surprise. His natural blue eyes lights up as he looks at his best friend. "Really?"

Zack nods as he answers, "Yeah, really."

A smile that's full of excitement instantly appears on Cloud's face. He tries to contain his excitement as he eagerly asks, "What kind of moves?"

The SOLDIER finds himself letting out a soft chuckle at how excited his friend is. "I'm going to teach you a move that's called 'Chain Slash.' I came up with that one myself." Zack thinks for a moment before he decides to inform him, "I'm probably going to teach you some martial arts moves too. Angeal taught me quite a bit of martial arts and I'm actually pretty good at it." Zack figures that Cloud can use some martial arts training because most of Cloud's training consists of firearms, nightsticks, and combat knives. So Zack took it upon himself to give his friend sword training. He hasn't given him any martial arts training yet, but he makes a mental note to do so when they return to headquarters after this mission. He's already given him some sword training in the past and he was surprised at how quickly Cloud catches onto different sword techniques. The teenager's a natural.

Cloud really can't wait for Zack to teach him and to let him use the Buster Sword when they get back to Midgar. He's always looked up to Zack as a hero and role model. The young man's like an older brother to him. Sometimes, he feels like Zack is his father figure too. His father passed away when he was a little kid and he was raised by his mother. He hopes that this doesn't make him sound disrespectful, but he actually can't remember what his father looked like. He does think about his father but it seems like whenever he tries to remember his face..Zack's face is the only one that always appears instead.

Zack playfully nudges Cloud in the side with his elbow again. "Well, come on buddy. We need to find the general." Zack climbs to his feet and grabs the Buster Sword.

Cloud immediately follows behind him and grabs his helmet as well as his assault rifle.

As Zack sheathes his sword, he says, "Hopefully, he didn't get lost."

Cloud puts his helmet on as he replies, "I'm sure that he's probably fine, sir."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Cloud."

Zack makes his way outside the room with Cloud following close behind. However, while Zack marches down the stairs, Cloud drops his nightstick before he has a chance to follow him down the steps. As he kneels down to pick it up, his eyes widen when he sees Tifa run inside the inn and talks to Zack. Cloud quickly grabs his nightstick and moves behind the wall to stay out of her sight. Since he's upstairs, he's unable to hear everything that they say. He hears Tifa say that Sephiroth's in Shin-Ra Mansion, but that's all that he's able to hear. Once he sees Tifa leave, he fastens his nightstick to the leather holster on to the side of his pants before he quickly makes his way down the steps. He runs outside towards the stairs that leads to the path to Shin-Ra Mansion. He stops by the steps to wait for Zack.

Before Zack has a chance to follow Cloud, he suddenly hears his cell phone ring. He quickly pulls it out of his pants pocket and answers it. Before he even has a chance to say anything, he hears a sweet cheerful voice greet, "Hell-lloooo?"

Zack's bright blue mako eyes lights up as he instantly recognizes the voice. A big smile appears on his face as he happily exclaims, "Aerith?!"

"I finally got through!" she announces, feeling happy and relieved to hear her boyfriend's voice.

Zack leans up against the water tower in the center of the village as he looks around, trying to make sure that he has a little privacy to talk to his girlfriend. He really does want to have a nice long conversation with her, but right now him and Cloud need to find Sephiroth to make sure that he's okay. "Uh, listen...Now's not the best time. I'll call you later."

The cheerful tone in Aerith's voice fades away some as she replies, "No, no, you don't have to..."

Zack feels guilty about having to cut their conversation short. In an attempt to help make her feel better, he says, "Okay, I'll come visit."

Her voice slightly sounds a little bit happier as she informs him, "I'll be here."

Zack smiles in response as he tells her, "I'll see you, I promise." He hangs up and puts his phone back into his pocket. He smiles even more as he says, "Aerith! Just wait for me a little longer." When he notices that Cloud's waiting for him beside the steps, he marches up to him.

When his commanding officer marches up to him, Cloud immediately stands up straight in attention and salutes him. "Sir."

Zack stands up straight and salutes him back before he tells him in a respectful tone, "At ease, soldier."

Cloud stops saluting him before he informs him, "Zack, Shin-Ra Manor is this way. Follow me, sir." With Cloud leading the way, they both quickly make their way to the mansion. Once they're inside, they go up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms on the right. Since Cloud was the first one to enter the room a few seconds before Zack, he stands beside the bed.

"Do you know where he is?" Zack asks Cloud.

The infantryman looks at Zack before he looks towards the round-shaped brick wall in the corner of the room. "There's a door over there, sir. Something's wrong with Sephiroth. I think that he went inside but..."

Zack pats him on the shoulder and orders, "Okay, I'll go check it out. You stay here and guard the entrance."

Cloud nods in response before Zack opens the hidden door and makes his way inside. The infantryman patiently waits for his older best friend and after about ten minutes, he finally emerges. He's surprised to see that the colonel has come back alone. As Zack walks up to him, Cloud asks, "Is everything alright?"

Zack takes a deep breath. "I hope so." When he went down there, the good news is that he found Sephiroth. The bad news is, well Sephiroth was telling him some weird things about how Jenova is his 'mother' and she's supposedly an ancient or Cetra...He can't help but feel worried about the general.

He looks at Cloud and tells him, "Come on, buddy. We should just leave him alone and get back to the village." After they leave the mansion, while marching down the trail that leads back to Nibelheim, a feeling comes over Zack like something really bad is going to happen soon. When he talked to Sephiroth earlier, it seemed like he's becoming..unstable. He can't explain it but he believes that he's slipping. He feels concerned that it may not be safe to go anywhere near Sephiroth. At least not for a while. He looks at Cloud and orders, "I don't want for you to go anywhere near Shin-Ra Manor." Cloud narrows his eyes in confusion and looks at Zack. The SOLDIER knows that he's making his friend feel worried too, but it's for the best that Cloud knows what's going on. He's not trying to worry him. He's trying to look out for him. "If you see Sephiroth around town, keep your distance from him and stay with me."

Things clearly don't seem to be going very well at all, so Cloud decides to ask him, "Is something wrong?"

While they continue walking, Zack runs a hand through his black spiky hair and answers, "I'm not really sure. He's acting different. Ya know, he's talking weird." He looks at his friend and orders in a serious tone, "So, if you have anything new to report, don't even think about reporting to him. You come and report only to me. You got that?"

"Yes, sir."

To assure himself that his friend will listen to him, they stop walking and Zack lightly grabs him by the shoulders to look at him directly in the eyes before he orders, "Just promise me that you'll do exactly as I said." He doubts that Cloud will disobey his orders, but he just wants to be sure.

The infantryman looks up at his friend with his wide natural blue eyes and honestly replies, "I promise." He's never disobeyed Zack's orders before nor will he ever disobey him.

Zack smiles at him as he says, "Okay, good." He knows Cloud quite well so he's able to tell when he's honest or not. So, he instinctively knows that Cloud will do as he's told. He lightly pats him on the back as he tells him, "Let's go." They both safely make it back to the village a couple of moments later. "Hey, Cloud?"

Cloud looks at his friend after hearing his name. "Huh?"

"How about we get something to eat?" Zack suggests. Hoping that it'll help take their minds off of the situation.

After hearing his own stomach growl, Cloud decides that's a really good idea. "Okay."

Zack smiles as he wraps an arm around his friend's shoulders as they go to get themselves some food. They both hope that nothing bad happens. Hopefully, this whole situation with Sephiroth will blow over and he'll be his old self again.

**Okay and that's all. I hope that you all enjoyed this and please feel free to leave a review. All reviews are welcome. I gave it some thought and I decided that this is going to be a one shot because, well we all know what happens afterwards. Ya know, the part when Cloud was protecting Tifa almost didn't make it in because that part actually wasn't planned out before. Kinda interesting at how even though some scenes aren't always planned out, they make it in the story anyways:) Personally, I'm proud of how this one turned out. I had a lot of fun with this and I'm happy with it:) So, what do you all think about it? Well anyways, thank you all for taking the time to read and review. I really appreciate it.**


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